Last Post!

Hello Everyone!  Thanks so much for following our journey. Your comments have been very appreciated. We have been home since Monday and doing great. Liam has his days and nights switched so we have been playing at 1:30 in the morning!!!  He is perfects in everyway!

Back in the USA

We had a good flight back and are on our way back home from O’Hare.  Our flight left at 11:40am on 5/30, and landed at 10:30am on 5/30.  We are looking forward to being home soon!

Pictures

It has only been a few hours, and we are exhausted!  He loves to play!  Here are a few pics.  We’ll be packing soon and off to the airport in the morning.  This is likely our last update from Korea.  We’ll be back soon!

Day 7!!!

The day is finally here. We have Liam Si-hu Nimm with us in the hotel room! At 9:30 this morning we took a subway ride to Holt International.  We were all so anxious to get there we could hardly stand it. When we arrived we were ushered right into the room with Si-hu and his Foster Mom.  He is beautiful and smart and we could not be more blessed to have him.  We then were allowed to ask questions for about 20 minutes and exchanged gifts. We then all went down stairs for his final check-up. The social worker called a cab and sent us on our way. The whole experience was a little surreal. I do not even remember all of it already. Taking Si-hu away from a Foster Mom that he obviously loves (and obviously loves him) was the worst experience of our lives.  Luckily the cab driver helped us calm him down a bit.  He fell asleep on the cab ride home because he was so exhausted.  Now we are hanging out as a family in the hotel room.  He is all boy! He is active and climbing and running and jumping……he is full of energy.  He is also a bit like his Uncle Jason and Aunt Mary.  He like to put things away:)  The plane ride tomorrow will be interesting to say the least.  However, we can not wait to take him home.  We are so grateful Bella is along as she has been a really great support for him.  He loves her already and shows her by kissing her and hugging her.

Well I gotta run. I forgot how dangerous a hotel room can be for a two year old;) Love you all and and will post photos in a bit. Thanks for coming along for this journey. It has been a long one, but every second is worth it. We are finally a complete family.

Love,
Sean, Carri, Bella and Liam Nimm

Day 6!

Once again we woke up early, but today we finally started to prepare the room for Si-Hu’s arrival tomorrow!!!!  I wrapped all the gifts and prepared a donation bag for the adoption agency.  Bella and our neighbor Maya worked hard at a rummage sale to earn money to buy items for needy children!  Once the room was organized and ready for tomorrow we decided to go out on the town one last time.

We walked around the city and enjoyed some of Buddha’s Birthday festivities.  We also ate a traditional Korean lunch and finished up our shopping.  In the afternoon we went to another Palace, Changdeokgong.  It was even more impressive than the one we went to at the beginning of our trip and it included acres of secret gardens.

On the way back from the palace we decided to call it a night early.  We stumbled across a McDonalds and enjoyed a happy meal, big mac and bulgogi burger……and a diet coke which was not as large as I normally like, but it was pretty delicious:)   We arrived back to our room at 6:28 tired and ready for the day to be done.  Tomorrow is a big day. It is one we have waited years for.  Sean and I are overcome with nervousness and anticipation.  We can’t wait to start our life as a complete family.  Tomorrow when I write (as long as I can) I will be writing to you as a mom of 2 🙂

Thanks to everyone for going on this journey with us.  Hope all is well,

The Nimms

Day Four!

Hello!  What a long day we had.  I am typing this at 10:19 pm which happens to be the latest we have been able to stay up the whole trip.  Sean and Bella are up on the roof of the hotel looking at all the glowing lanterns that are hung all over Seoul because of Buddah’s birthday tomorrow.

Today we walked around town and found a really nice river walk and some historical statues and facts.  We then decided to take the subway out of town for a 40 minute ride to a mall.  We wanted to buy Si-Hu some toys and books he would be familiar with. We actually found a Toys R Us! After a day of shopping we came back to the hotel so Bella could take a nap.  She managed to sleep on the subway and during a taxi cab ride today. She is exhausted.

After nap time we headed out to Seoul Tower.  It is a tower on top of Namsan mountain which can be found in the heart of Seoul. It overlooks the whole city. We decided to make the trip at night so we could see the entire city lit up. You need to take a cable car up to the top of the mountain and then once you are at the top you take an elevator ride to the top of the tower.  What a beautiful sight.

Well, that’s all I got today. I’m afraid I am as exhausted as Bella is. One more day to go!!!!!!!! Hope all is well in Wisconsin:)

Love,

The Nimms

Day 3: We finally have a name!

We  finally have chosen a name for Si-Hu!  Unfortunately, you are all still going to have to wait because I reserve the right to change it at any time;)

On Saturday morning we shopped at Insadong again on our own this time!  We bought traditional Korean Hanboks for both Bella and Si-Hu. (Bella is wearing one in the picture below) We also bought Si-Hu a chop block.  They are stamps with a persons Korean name on them and are used to sign their names. It is a common item to own in Korea. The shop owner was very sweet and made Bella a beautiful sign with her name on it.(The shop is pictured below)  Bella continued her rock star tour. Shop owners would give her things for free just to talk with her.

We also ventured  into the subway on our own today.  The subway is very clean and safe. Unfortunately, there is very little English to help you figure out where you are going.  We got turned around a few times!

After running down the streets of Seoul, becasue we took so long figuring out the subway, we made it on time to the theater.  We went to see NANTA!  www.nanta.co.kr.  It is the longest running show in Korea since 1997.  The show is a comedy set in a kitchen and there is very little speaking.  They use kitchen equipment to make music!  It was hilarious and reminded me of the Blue Man Group.

By the time the show was done we were all already tired and headed back to the hotel. We have been waking up at 2 in the morning wide awake and thinking it is time to start our day! As I type this Bella is in bed watching Hannah Montana in Korean. Who knew Billy Ray Cyrus could speak Korean so fluently:) We appreciate all the comments everyone is giving us and are getting more and more anxious every day to get our son!  The next two days are going to be busy as the city fills up with people coming into town for Buddha’s Birthday!

Hope everyone is doing well back home. Miss and love you,

The Nimms

Day 2: Guided Tour of Seoul

Hello!  Today we took a guided tour of Seoul with a volunteer tour guide.  Her name was Min-jeong (MJ) and she was a college student. We also went with another couple we met on the plane ride. They are picking their son up next Thursday!  Shelly and Derek live in a south suburb of Chicago!  Our first stop was Gyeongbokgung Palace.  It is a beautiful palace originally built in 1395 for kings and queens.  This is a common place for schools to take their students on field trips. Bella was a rock star.  Kids and adults kept asking to take her picture and telling her she was cute and beautiful.  Many of the students practiced their English with us.  One lady from China kept hugging Bella!

After our tour of the Palace we headed to a popular shopping area called Insadong where we ate traditional Korean food!  Then it was off to another market, Namdaemun.  This market was crowded and every inch was filled with goods to buy.

Once the tour was completed we headed back to our hotel where Sean and Bella swam on the roof top overlooking the city. It was a little piece of heaven.  We are handling the time change pretty well.  We are anxiously awaiting Tuesday when we get to see our son.  We found out his name is pronounced  more like she-who.  Our tour guide said it is a very modern name and a good looking actor currently has that name!  We still do not have a name!

Hope all is well back home,

The Nimms

We have Arrived!

We finally made it to our hotel in Seoul, Korea at 6:30 pm on thursday. Korea is 14 hours ahead of Wisconsin!  Other than being very hot, the flight went well.  Bella has slept for a total of three hours since we left Nana’s house at 7am on Wednesday. Sean and I have not slept yet at all!  I will post more pictures after we sleep:) In the morning at 9:30 we will be taking a tour of Seoul! Hope all is well back home.

Love,

Three Tired Nimms

Day 1:Travel

We arrived at the Chicago airport at 9:30. Our plane leaves at 12:45pm and we will be on the plane for 14 hours. It will be 4pm on Tuesday in Seoul, Korea when we land! Next time I post I will be in Korea! Right now Bella is doing homework while we wait:)